Sep 18, 2009

We are familiar with the name, Cerelac and not only familiar but also consumers too.... Whenever somo one (parents) thinks about the product in baby food category for their babies, the first and the last name comes in their mind is Cerelac. Why Nestle Cerelac is so popular and authentic brand, the reason is Nestle that communicates itself as 'Good food, good life'. Cerelac is a name of quality and best food for babies and the positioning statement of Cerelac also tells the same as, 'best start to a healthier future'.

The market for baby food in Pakistan increased between 2000-2005, growing at an anuual rate of 5.4%. The leading company in the market i Nestle S.A.

Nestle Cerelac is a baby cereal and mothers start giving it to

their child from age 6 months to three (3) years.

Product class: Foods & Beverages

Product category: Baby Food

Product type: Baby cereal

175 g

Size: 25 g, 175 g, 350 g

Nestle has its own development nutrition plan which consists of three stages as:

First of all consumers expects that the products must fullfill the core benefits attached with it. E.g, they demand a nutritious diet for their babies which build a strong immunity system in babies against diseases. And only the Cerelac that best fullfil their expectations.

The core benefit - acomplete diet for babies as it has 12 vitamins, 5 minerals, calcium and iron. Then it has variety and asortment; available in different tastes and textures. The new variation in texture imcludes fruit pieces in cereal which help babies in learning how to chew the brand.

Nestle Cerelac is available every where in the market and provides convinience to customers and it has high quality with deep assortment. Most importantly, Nestle Cerelac has its own 'Development Nutrition Plan' which guides the parents that which things are important and at what stage.

So that's why one can say that Cerelac is a best star of one's life and offcourse future too.

Sep 17, 2009

Think of Brand architecture (or Brand Structure) as a brand's family tree or its hierarchy. It is how a firm organizes the various named entities within its portfolio, how they relate to each other. Ideally, brand structure is simple and easy, with no more than two levels: brand and subbrands. But some organizations add a third level too: named products.

The four general types of architecture are:

1. Master brand

2. Brand/subbrand

3. Endorsed brand

4. Separate brands: (stand-alone or independent)

Corporate Brand:

Corporate brand is a brand bearing the company name. It is always the highestin a brand hierarchy. Examples are Nestle, Hewlett-Packard, Coca-cola, Pepsi, IBM, Ford and etc.

Master Brand:

Master brand is the dominant, highest level brand in a brand hierarchy. Typically, it is also the only brand in the system. Historically, many corporate brands were also master brands. Today, there are fewer master brands left. E.g. Nestle is the master brand which is dominant and so called corporate brand of the Nestle company.

Parent Brand:

Parent brand is a brand that is extended into more that one product category. Itmay or may not be the same as the corporate brand. Examples are Honda, PEL, LG, Orient. It is also called family brand because all the products are lie within one brand name. Parent brands offer the following advantages:

- Less expensive new product launches

- Trust & assurance

- Economies of scale

Subbrand:

A subbrand is a new brand that is combined with a parent or corporate brand in the brand identity system. The subbrand can make the parent brand more vital and relevent to a new consumer segment or within a new product category. E.g. Cerelac is the subbrand of Nestle, similarly Milkpak, Nido and Pure life, all are the subbrands of corporate brand Nestle.

Endorsed Brand:

Endorsed brand is the primary name the consumer is intended to use to refer to a product. It is a brand that is endorsed by the parent or corporate brand in the brand identity system. The parent brand is also identified with the product; however, the endorsed brand is given much greater visual weight that parent brand. In this situation, parent or corporate brand lends credibility or assurance to the endorsed brand without overpowering it with its own associations. An example is Lays (chips) that is endorsed by Pepsi and similarly Minute Maid from Coca-cola.

Separate Brand:

Separate brands are the brands that either are independent or stand-alone. These brands have no influence of the corporate or parent brand. A good example of separate brands are Olper's milk, Omore icecream, brands of Angro Foods and Olper's milk has no influence on Omore and both lauched as independently and both are successful too.

Trade Dress (trademark)

Trade dress refers to aesthetic elements that provide legal protection for a brand's identity. For example, Coca-Cola's bottle shape is a part of its trade dress.

Sep 16, 2009

Branding is the philosophy and a total approach to managing companies.

Managing the company is a total way for creating, making and keeping the brand promise.

A brand is a name, term, symbol, logo, design, or combination of them which differentiates firm's product/services from competitors. So we can say that branding is all about creating creating a differential effect in customer's mind. Powerful brands increase employee satisfaction, loyalty and achievement drive. Coke has the highest branding value from the last 33 years.

Two Approaches Uses in Branding:

- Inside-out: Focus on product attributes

- Outside-in: Focus on customer needs instead of company's offering

Branding strats from positioning. We analyse first that what are our POP (points of parity); the similarities among our and competitor's products and then POD (points of differenciation); the unique selling prepositions (USP), how we can differentiate our product from others. Then develop brand essence; a brand's fundamental nature or quality, it is the one constant across product categories and through out the world. Typically, it is rare for an organization's brand essence and slogan to be the same. For instance, Nike's essence - Authentic Athletic Performance - was translated to following two slogans: 'Just do it!' and 'Ican'. Brand mantra (essence) should define the category for brand and set brand boundaries It should also clarify what is unique about the brand. Then design the brand and its elements and finally use all the advertising and media strategies to activate the brand.